


Of Favors and Food

by The_Silent_Writer



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Gen, Hopeless dad, M/M, Neighbors, Pet Names, dad!chris
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-07-19 11:13:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7358914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Silent_Writer/pseuds/The_Silent_Writer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris has recently moved into a new apartment in the city with his daughter, Gracia. He's got the stress of a recent separation from his significant other and a new job riding on his shoulders. To top it all off, Gracie's daycare teacher just called to tell him that she won't be able to take care of her until next week. Now he's got to find someone fast that can watch his girl while he's at work. Maybe someone in the apartment complex can help him out for a day or two?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *points at self* I'm shit at summaries. My apologies!  
> I have it in my head that Chris would keep using pet names as verbal cushions in case he says something that would make his kid sad/angry.

“Daddy, what are you doing?” the little girl giggled. She watched her father fuss around their apartment, frantically running around for some reason unknown to her.

“Have you seen my shoes, Gracie?” the man asked, dashing back to the kitchen to flip their eggs and bacon before it burned.

“By the door!”

He groaned, flitting over to the entry way to slip on his sleek, black shoes with about as much grace as a dog on ice. “Thank you, baby! Oh! My briefcase?”

“With me, daddy,” Gracie laughed. She hugged her father’s briefcase to her little body, proud that she could guard it like a knight would her princess.

The young man let out a huff; relief settling over his shoulders. “What would I do without you?”

“Cry and wither away?”

Laughter bubbled up from his chest. “Have I said that?”

“Yes!”

“Then I guess you’re right!” He threw their breakfasts together – hers in a Tupperware container, his between two pieces of toast. “Alright, honeybunch, you ready to go?”

“… no…”

The man immediately dropped everything when he saw the sad look on his daughter’s face. “Gracia, what’s wrong, honey? You were so excited last night.”

“But I’ve been thinking…” She hesitated, puffing out her cheeks.

Her father sat next to her on the bar chairs. “About what?” he asked calmly.

“No one’s gonna know me, daddy. What if they don’t like me?”

“Oh, Gracie, no…” He scratched the back of his neck, trying to figure out what exactly to say. His short blonde hair was soft against his fingers. “They’re going to love you just as much as I do! You’re the kindest, smartest sweetheart that knows how to dress better than someone five-times your age!”

She giggled, looking away.

“It’s true! Who picked out my tie today?”

“Me…”

“Exactly! I’m going to be the belle of the office when I walk in!” He looked at his daughter tentatively, trying to gauge her mood. “Come here, honey.”

Gracie fell into him and he wrapped her up in his strong arms. “Ah, you’re only 5 and you’re already growing up on me,” he sniffed, rubbing circles into his daughter’s back.

“Five-and-two-months, daddy.”

The man let out a watery laugh, wiping his eyes as he pulled away. “You’re right, how could I forget… You’re going to be okay, Gracie. I promise. Everything’s going to be okay. Okay?”

“Okay… Love you…”

“I love you too, honeybunch. Alright! You ready for your first day?”

“Yeah!”

“Awesome! Let’s go – ” Like drawing a pistol, the instant he heard his phone ring he was answering with a “Fleiss here. How may I help you?” in the most customer-friendly tone imaginable.

“Oh, Miss Hayden! Good morning! We were just on the way to…”

“What’s wrong, daddy?”

He ran a hand through his daughter’s strawberry-blonde hair. “Nothing, sweetie, just – Yes! Yes, ma’am, I – A – Alright… Alright, then I’ll see you next week. Mmhm… mmhm, you too. Get well soon. Bye-bye.”

Gracie asked her question again.

“Um… Looks like Miss Hayden caught a very bad cold so we’ll… we’ll have to figure out somewhere that you can stay while I go to work.”

“I can’t go with you?”

“No, I’m sorry, the office doesn’t like it when children are running around.”

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “But I wouldn't run! I’m a good girl!”

“I know – I know that, sweetheart, but even though I’m the new boss there’s a bigger boss that might get mad if I cross the line too many times… I’ll see what I can do though, okay?” He waited for her response: a pitiful nod. “Great! Now… let’s see if we can… find someone to watch you?”

And with that, he packed them both up and they headed out the door. But not without Fleiss almost forgetting his keys.

 

After the sixth door either going unanswered or of being greeted with a less-than-friendly face, Gracie’s father was just about to say screw it and bring his daughter to work, bigger boss be damned. But he really shouldn’t. If he left now he might barely make it before he’d be considered fashionably late. But on a first day, to be nearly half an hour late with your child in tow would just be a big no-no.

 _Please please please please_ , he begged to any idol, deity, or other-worldly creature that might listen as he rapped his knuckles on the next apartment door. _Please please please –  
_

“Well this isn’t how I thought I’d wake up this morning,” the answering man mused. His body, merely clad in loose pajama bottoms, was leaning slightly on the door jam.

Fleiss was going to ignore the flush on his cheeks like his life depended on it.

“Um…” he mumbled intelligently, cursing himself mentally for letting his eyes wander. “Yes! Oh uh, hi! My name’s Christopher Fleiss, this is my daughter, Gracia,” he blathered, patting his girl on the head.

Their neighbor looked down at the girl with shadowed gray eyes. He stared for a short moment before a small smile played on his lips. “Good morning,” he said to the both of them. “I don’t see Bibles on you so… what’s your ask here, Cochise? Gonna sell me whatever’s in your briefcase?”

“What?” Chris took a good long moment to ponder over what the man in front of him had just said before he realized it was a joke. At least that’s what he thought if the guy’s smirk was anything to go by. “Oh – hah hah – no I… umm I have a very VERY large favor to ask of you.”

“Speaker has the floor.”

“Right, well, we’re actually your neighbors from down the hall. Everyone else wasn’t home but that wouldn’t even be a problem if Gracie’s daycare teacher wasn’t sick, and I can’t take her to work with me and I was wondering – ”

“You want a stranger to look after your kid?”

“I don’t have a choice,” Christopher resigned, his tone far past defeated. “Please? I – I promise I’ll pay you back when payday rolls around.”

“Nah, no need for money,” the man said, waving away the offer with a flourish of his hand. Said hand snatched Chris’ wrist, bringing it closer to his mouth… so he could take the largest bite of Chris’ breakfast sandwich Chris had ever seen. The man hummed approvingly. “This is good,” he muffled around the mouth-full. “Name’s Josh Washington, by the way. Come on in, princess.”

Before Gracia could sprint off, Chris caught her. “Gracie, you be a good girl, okay? Don’t cause any trouble for Mr. Washington – ”

“Josh.”

“—Josh. I’ll be back this evening. You have your phone and you remember my number right?”

She nodded fiercely.

“Awesome! Remember only use it for emergencies. It’s not a toy. And you’ve got things to keep you entertained?”

“Yeees, daddy!”

“Okay – and you’ve got your phone, right?”

Gracia laughed. “You already asked me that, daddy!”

“Alright, alright. Just be good, okay? And be safe! Safe is more important than good, got it?” He put down his briefcase to hold out his pinky finger.

“Okie dokie,” she whispered, mimicking the motion until they had made their promise.

“Okay, go have fun.”

Gracie needed no other permission to frolic inside.

Their neighbor – Josh – chuckled. “Sweet, we’ll see you this eve—”

Chris stepped into Josh’s space, their faces only inches apart. “Look, I’m trusting you with my whole world right now. She is my pride and joy and the only family I have left in this world. I don’t care how cute you are, if anything happens to Gracia I will actually hurt you. Understood?”

Josh’s eyes widened. Chris saw as a shiver went through the guy’s body. He ignored how Josh licking his lips did the same to him. But then all too soon that smirk from before was back and he whispered, “You think I’m cute?”

Fleiss grew five shades redder before he stalked off. “Be good – both of you!”

“Have a good day at work, Cochise!” Josh laughed. “I expect some bomb-a-f food as recompense!”

With a mock salute as a reply, Chris was sprinting down the stairs and heading off to his first day of his new job… an hour late.


	2. Day 1 p.1: Of Crayons and Phone Calls

“Sir, I’m so sor—”

“You’re late, Fleiss.”

“Yes, sir. I—”

“This doesn’t bode well for your first day.

 _Oooooof course it fucking doesn’t…_ He thought. Chris truly regretted that he was late, but he couldn’t help that Miss Hayden caught the flu. At least his daughter was being cared after for the day.

His stomach dropped.

At least he hoped she was.

“…roe will show you around.”

Chris jerked, trying to place his focus back on his boss. “Huh?”

The older man turned red and Chris swore if no one else had been around, he’d be getting strangled. “Take him,” he snipped at the young man next to him, “If anyone needs me, I’m not in.”

He trudged off. The other employees that had secretly been watching the debacle quickly looked back to their monitors as their boss stomped past.

The two men stood in silence for a moment. The droning soundscapes of the office filled it in awkwardly.

“Well, that’s one way to start off at a new company,” the man laughed.

Chris groaned.

He buried his face in his hands, rubbing his temples in embarrassment. “God, I’m so sorry! It’s been one of those mornings.”

“Ha! Tell me about it. I should’ve taken a video of the tirade the boss threw when you weren’t here half an hour ago. Priceless.”

“He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?”

The man laughed. “Well, if I were you, I’d expect a mountain of work waiting for me every morning for the next three weeks. But he’ll cool down soon enough, so don’t worry about it too much.”

Chris nodded, worried eyes trained on the floor as he scratched the back of his neck.

“… name’s Michael Munroe, in case you didn’t catch it earlier.”

He looked up, catching sight of Munroe’s outstretched hand. Chris was more than happy to reciprocate. “Christopher Fleiss.”

Michael smiled, his perfect teeth peeking out from behind his full lips. “Come on, I’ll show you around the place.”

“Sweet.”

 

“So… what do kids like to do, anyways?” Josh asked from his perch on the kitchen counter.

Gracie sat on a nearby chair, swinging her little legs as she thought. “I like to colour!”

Josh sat up, straightening with interest. “Really?”

“Yeah!”

“Sweet!” He slid off the counter. “I’ve got some stuff we can use!” Halfway down the hall he stopped and turned, pink shading his strong cheeks lightly. “I mean… if you want?”

The girl shot up from her chair. “Yes! I want to!” She trotted after him with the type of urgency only a child could have.

Josh led her into a separate room and when Gracie caught an eye-full, she screamed.

“What?! Are you oka—”

“THIS IS AWESOME!!”

“Oh.” He stood, stunned only for a moment before a bubble of laughter grabbed hold of him. “I’m glad you think so. It’s not much,” he ushered her in, “but if there’s something you wanna use, chances are I’ll say ‘sure’.”

Gracie spun around, trying her best to take as much of the room in as she possibly could. But when her eyes landed on one of the works-in-progress in the corner, she cowered.

“J-Josh?”

“Hm? What’s up?” When he saw what she was looking at, a sense of dread flooded his stomach. “Shit – shoot, I’m sorry, Gracia!” He threw a tarp over the painting. A little voice nagged at him. He _knew_ the thing wasn’t dry yet, why did he _do_ that? But the overwhelming urge to protect the innocence of someone so special to someone else had overridden everything. “It’s okay, she won’t hurt you, I promise.”

“What was that?” she squeaked. Her little hands wrung out the hem of her dress.

“That was a – um.” _Truth is best… right?_ “She’s what stories call a ‘wendigo’.”

“A wendy-gold?”

Josh chuckled. He knelt so he could meet her misty, blue eyes. “Close. They’re a Native American legend. But I’ll let in you in on a little secret.”

Gracie gasped, the newfound excitement of conspiracies sparkling in her eyes. “What?” she whispered.

“Monsters aren’t something you need to be scared of at all.

She stomped her little foot on the wood flooring. “Yes they are!”

“They aren’t! I swear! You know how actors pretend to be different people?”

She puffed out her cheeks, truly unconvinced with Josh’s quelling. “Yeah?”

“It’s the same with monsters! They’re just pretending to be mean baddies. Why – that wendigo over there, people just think he’s scary because of the way he looks but he’s really a big softy. Didn’t your dad tell you not to judge a book by its cover?”

“Yes…”

“See? It’s the same with monsters.”

“But – but what about the Boogeyman? He’s scary too!”

“Nah, he’s just making sure that no one comes and steals your stuff in the middle of the night. He’s just like a big guard dog making sure you and your home are safe. If he looks scary, burglars won’t want to break in, right?”

“And the Mothman?”

“Just making sure you’re driving safely over bridges.”

“What about wendigoes?” Gracia asked, her eyes lighting up again. “What do they do?”

“Well, wendigoes love eating. If they’re not out rock climbing or screaming in metal band, they’re chowing down. Who do you think invented buffets?”

“No way!”

“Yes way, girl! Now,” Josh started, pulling out a huge roll of white paper and the largest box of assorted crayons Gracie had ever seen, “wanna draw?”

“YES!”

 

“Who’s that cutie?” Mike asked over lunch. He gestured to his peer’s wallet, at the small picture tucked inside it.

Chris was nearly beaming when he said, “That’s my little girl, Gracia. Er, well, I always call her ‘Gracie’. She’s the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet.”

Mike chuckled. “I do believe there is some bias in that statement.”

“I dare you to find a kid as sweet as my baby girl! You haven’t even met her yet how can you pass such harsh judgement already?!” Chris joked, donning his best look of shock and horror.

“Then how about dinner – tomorrow night? I’d love to meet her.”

Chris nearly choked on the bite in his mouth. He swallowed, his food went down rough in his suddenly-dry throat. He took a long swig of water to clear his throat and clam his nerves. “Um… y-yeah. Yeah, sure, I think that’d be great – actually.” He looked away, a slight blush rising to his cheeks.

The look in Mike’s eyes that held Chris fast were too intense.

“I’m glad,” Mike replied, hopping up from his seat. He stretched, flexing the kinks out of his admittedly fit body.

Chris couldn’t help but ogle. Just a little bit.

“Now, ready to get back to work?”

“Yep, let’s do this thing!” He followed Mike’s lead out of the little café.

 _Just separated and already two hot guys are flirting with you, Fleiss…_ He laughed softly to himself. The tone had more than a few notes of self-deprecation. _What is this world coming to?_

 

After a long morning of art, tag around the house, and more art, Josh was much more exhausted than Gracie was. Eventually, Josh just said ‘have at the Netflix account’ and let her go to town on something with spelling princesses. Over the TV and Gracie’s excited commentary, it was a wonder Josh had heard the soft trill coming from the girl’s book bag.

He read the caller ID and let out a sultry chuckle when he answered, “Hey, _Daddy_.”

“Oh my god, stop right there!”

Josh laughed, moving the receiver away from his mouth. “Gracia, your dad’s calling!”

“DADDY!” she cheered, dashing over to Josh to take the cellphone. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m fine, baby. Just thought I’d check in, make sure you’re doin’ alright before I got back to work. Are you having fun?”

She replied in the affirmative, quickly going into the morning’s events. Josh was proud of himself; not only was he capable of taking care of a kid, he was also able to tamp her fear of things that go bump in the night. He watched Gracia regale her father with stories over the phone, fascinated by how much energy could be in one little body.

“Okie dokie, daddy. Love you too.” She padded over to Josh, handing him back the phone. “Here you go, Josh!” Once he took the device, Gracie was off in her world of counting fish.

“Hey, you still on or did she hand me this so I could put it up?”

“Still here.” Chris’ voice sounded calmer, fonder now that he had talked to his little girl. Josh couldn’t say the tone wasn’t doing anything to his libido. “So everything’s going alright?”

“Yep, ship’s sailing smoothly, Cochise.”

“Good – great, thank you again – so much. Really, I’m so sorry I just sort of threw my daughter at you this morning. I didn’t even think that you might be getting ready for work too…”

Josh smiled to himself. Aside from his best friend, he hadn’t had someone worry about him for quite a while. He settled into his plush seat by the window, leaning his head on the phone. “No worries. I work from home anyway. But I’m guessing you just heard all about that.”

Chris chuckled. It was light and bubbly. Josh hadn’t heard something so relieved in ages. “Cool, I’m glad, and yeah, I heard. I’ll have to get further details later… so…” Josh could feel him hesitating. “Since I was late this morning, I might have to stay a little later to make up for it. Is that alright? I don’t want to put you out or anything.”

“Chris, it’s okay, I promise. Is she allergic to anything? I can make her something for dinner –” He paused before adding, “for you too, if you want?”

“She’s allergic to chocolate –”

“This poor child.”

“Haha, can’t miss what you don’t know.”

“True, true.”

“But, dinner would be great – for her I mean –” Josh could hear muffled murmurs, like Chris was talking to someone. “Apparently, I’m being treated to the finest the King of Burgers has to offer while I finish up tonight, so thank you, but I’ll have to pass for now.”

Josh was not in the least feeling disappointed. “Cool. Oh, I’ll text you from my phone so I don’t feel like a creep calling you on your daughter’s phone, ‘kay, _daddy_?”

“Oh my gooooood, stoooop!” Chris wailed, hardly hiding the mirth in his voice. “But sure – shit, I actually gotta go. Again, thank you so much for taking care of Gracia for the day!”

“No problem, man, we’ll see you tonight.

He hung up and felt… conflicted.

_When are you not, Joshua?_

“Never…” he sighed to himself. Curling up in his chair, Josh looked over at the little girl sitting in front of the television. She was so enraptured in the moving pictures that nothing else seemed to matter.

_When was the last time you saw someone look so happy?_

He closed his eyes, pushing away the whispers of names in his head.

“God, when did I get so cynical?”

After a moment longer spent brooding in his chair, he forced himself to get up. It wouldn’t do to fall into a mental pit when there was a little lady he needed to take care of.

“Hey, Gracia?”

“Yeah??”

“What do you want for lunch?”

Gracie turned to him and thought seriously on the question. Her brow scrunched up in contemplation. Josh saw the spark in her eyes return when she had made up her mind. “Grilled cheese!”

He nodded, making his way into the open kitchen. Grilled cheese sounded real fucking good right now. “Coming right up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY I AM TRASH AT UPDATING HERE PLEASE DON'T BE MAD I LOVE YOU  
> AS ALWAYS STAY BEAUTIFUL!

**Author's Note:**

> Uh oh. Uuuuh oh I did a thing. I hope you liked it! Pretty please tell me what you think!
> 
> Until next time! Stay beautiful! <3


End file.
